2015

Refugees
commentary
Will Today's Refugees Become the 'New Palestinians'?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Oct 9, 2015
The Hill
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have generated the greatest volume of refugees since World War II. If the international community is to avoid seeing the emergence of a population of new Palestinians lasting decades into the future, it will have to craft a more coherent approach.
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Economic Policy
commentary
Do Young 'Elites' Favor Income Redistribution?
Michael Pollard @MichaelSPollard, Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Oct 8, 2015
The RAND Blog
Young 'elites' -- employed Americans who are 40 or younger, with high household incomes and graduate degrees -- and especially Democratic elites have a strong preference for income redistribution.
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International Trade
commentary
Bridging the Global Age Gap
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_
Oct 8, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
The Trans-Pacific Partnership offers hope for balancing the world's rapidly aging with its jobless youth. As long-term care for the elderly becomes a pressing need in many developed countries, services such as monitoring and reminding people to take their medications could be provided remotely from countries with an abundance of younger workers.
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Afghanistan
commentary
The Fall of Kunduz and What It Means for the Future of Afghanistan
Jason H. Campbell @JasonHCampbell
Oct 7, 2015
War on the Rocks
After the fall of Kunduz, Afghan officials and their coalition partners need to ask some hard questions about where their efforts have gone wrong and what can be done to recover.
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Military Health and Health Care
commentary
Tools for Coping with a Military Spouse's Drinking
Karen Chan Osilla
Oct 5, 2015
SpouseBUZZ
A new research study and web program, Partners Connect, was launched in September to help military spouses concerned about a loved one's drinking.
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Afghanistan
q&a
RAND Experts Q&A on the Fighting in Kunduz
Oct 2, 2015
The RAND Blog
The Taliban battled its way into the center of Kunduz this week, with media reports saying it seized control of the northern Afghanistan city at least for a time. A trio of RAND experts participated in a Q&A on the situation and its significance.
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Global Climate Change
commentary
Adapting to a Hotter World
Evan D. Peet, Jaime Madrigano
Oct 2, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Because climate change is largely irreversible, mitigation alone won't solve the problem. While mitigation will prevent even greater, future climatic changes, adaptation — efforts to adjust to climate change's effects — will prepare the world for a new set of living conditions, whatever they may be.
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Russia
commentary
What Is Putin Really Up to in Syria?
William Courtney @courtneywmh
Oct 2, 2015
Politico
Russia wants to be sure that it's not ignored if and when the West succeeds in implementing a broader, more effective solution to the Syria-Iraq-ISIL problem. This is a task far beyond Russia's capabilities, but one that America, the West, and regional powers may be able to accomplish.
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Military Acquisition and Procurement
commentary
Multiple Factors Drive Program Success
Irv Blickstein, William Shelton
Sep 30, 2015
Defense News
Congress continues to express concerns about weapon system cost growth and is considering multiple acquisition reform proposals for the National Defense Authorization Act. One proposal would hold program managers accountable via a “performance agreement” for key parameters that must be met.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
In Latin America, Breaking the Cycle of Intimate-Partner Abuse One Handwritten Letter at a Time
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Sep 30, 2015
The RAND Blog
Latin America has one of the highest rates of intimate-partner violence in the world, but a series of high-profile cases, including the murder of a journalist by her policeman husband, have propelled intimate-partner violence to the fore of Bolivia's public agenda.
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Military Doctrine
commentary
The U.S. Military: Between a Rock and a Repulsive Place
Jeffrey Eggers
Sep 29, 2015
Foreign Policy
There is a reasonable argument that the best route to address pedophilia and other human rights violations by Afghan forces is to remain engaged, and to make U.S. support conditioned upon remediation and accountability, as the Leahy law requires. Others might insist that the U.S. guarantee that not a single taxpayer dollar goes to an Afghan soldier who commits gross violations of human rights.
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Secondary Education
commentary
Exploring New Approaches to Higher Education: The Expansion of Competency-Based Programs
Lindsay Daugherty, Trey Miller, Van L. Davis
Sep 29, 2015
The RAND Blog
Policymakers and educators must determine if the risks of maintaining the status quo outweigh the potential benefits of competency-based programs, especially for those students who are ill-served by the traditional higher education model.
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The Islamic State (Terrorist Organization)
commentary
Any Review of Syria and Iraq Strategy Needs Realistic Reappraisal
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 28, 2015
The Hill
Since the American-led coalition bombing campaign began a year ago, ISIS has suffered some military setbacks and lost territory, but it also has been able to capture several more key cities in Iraq and Syria, and, despite the bombing, continues to attract a large number of foreign fighters.
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Economics
commentary
China's Currency
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Sep 28, 2015
The Weekly Standard
Much of the worry in the United States and elsewhere about China's currency “manipulation” is overblown because a less restricted yuan would more likely be overvalued than undervalued, thereby adversely affecting Chinese trade and exports.
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Greece
commentary
The Greek Tragedy's Next Act Unfolds
Charles P. Ries @charles_ries
Sep 27, 2015
Newsweek
On regaining the mantle of prime minister, Tsipras should expect little, if any, honeymoon from the Greek electorate, as he faces not just the implementation of austerity measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund and the EU: He must also cope with Greece's part of a European migration crisis of historic proportions.
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